Month: October 2017

This morning I had a lucid dream. A very familiar voice was talking to me: it was the voice of the Inner Plane Teacher that I work with most often. He took me to a very special place and started a very serious conversation with me…

You have to understand that the teachings of the Magical Order Temple of Starlight are deeply rooted in the Western Mystery Tradition. They are based on the teachings of the adepts that went the journey before me. They are based on the teachings of the teachers who went before me and the school I was trained in. But ten years ago, yes almost exactly ten years ago now, I was called by Him who is the Contact of the magical tradition; there was important work that needed to be brought through.

The Teachings that he communicated through me come from what we call the ‘Inner Planes’. They come from a Field of Wisdom that one can learn gradually to tap into. These Wisdom Fields exist for all professions. They are the planes where Mozart listened to his new compositions and where Einstein received his relativity theory.

Over the years the Teachings came through like the creation of a series of Art Nouveau paintings. First the visions came, together with auditory teachings in deep meditations. They were followed by studies like sketches in notebooks, translated into rituals and retreats. I often felt I was the canvas being prepared. Like a painting, series of single Teachings developed after a lot of sketches and studies.

Working for many years, testing and dismissing, the final forms started to take shape. The various teachings turned out to be different aspects of one big diamond with many facets that needed to be brought through and understood in their associations, correlations and their multi-layered nature. All the Inner Plane work needed to be tested by me and a group of very devoted and trained Adepts; we have been working on that for many years…

Then last night I received this dream. He called me to follow him to that place on the Inner Planes where the Book of Wisdom is always opened at the right page. We went through the entire teaching model, flipped through the pages of all the stages of development and then He said:

“The time has come to explain more about the work we have been doing, to a wider audience”. I was really flabbergasted; for the last 20 years he has emphasized to keep the teachings of the Magical Order Temple of Starlight Under the Rose. Now He asks me to start lifting tips from the Veil! So that is where I am right now… in my mind and heart I am looking a bit confused in all directions. Feeling strongly that I need to test these unknown waters …

In esoteric circles there exist strong cultural blockages … that make spiritual people powerless. To what extend are these ideas helpful? Or are they blocking us? A common idea that I hear very often in spiritual circles is;

You are not allowed to use spiritual energy for yourself or to achieve mundane goals. Spiritual forces are meant to be used pure and unselfishly for the wellbeing of others. Otherwise you abuse your forces and go downhill into black magic …

Is this true?

Why would spiritual forces not become instrumental for yourself and mundane goals? In my opinion we go downhill because of a lack of spiritual awareness involved in the decisions that we make.. Involving our soul and our ethical awareness we contribute to a better World. It would lead to a materialization of spiritual energy in the form of sustainable products that help people, animals and the planet.

We have not fallen from heaven to make up for a karmic punishment. We have all arrived with a cosmic contract in our back pocket to make the world into a better place. In order to accomplish this, the Universe needs strong people!!!

Un-fold your Self

The first task the Universe gives you is to use the challenges in your life to become strong. Embedded in every life experience there is an enormous potential to grow.

All of us, without exceptions, get harsh lessons of the universe at the moment an expansion of consciousness is required, by which we can contribute to a better world.

Using spiritual energy for yourself means that you are going to tap into that growth potential, to develop yourself in order to fulfil your cosmic contract for the good of all.

Spirituality and work

In a former article I gave you a meditation to make you conscious of the spiritual energy that penetrates everything that exists. Everything is drenched with consciousness. This is also true for every product you buy and everything you make yourself. When you devote yourself with heart and soul to fulfilling your life’s mission, then your work will automatically be an expression of this and your work and products will be carriers of this energy in the world.

There are written reports of magicians who met Inner Plane Contacts ‘in the flesh’. Other magicians dismiss the idea and regard it to be fraud;

‘What Fortune appears to have ruled out completely was the idea of physical secret chiefs? Anything on earth that was special was an initiate and she did not appear to mention any physical secret chiefs meeting her in parks.’ Nick Farrell

Who needs to meet an Inner Plane Contact in the park when there is so much communication and signs following? Who would believe Dion Fortune, Ernest Butler or me, when I would state that the amount of contact can become so dense that the Inner Plane Master becomes almost touchable?

I remember very clearly an intensive conversation going on while I was about to visit the market in Rotterdam, and because He became so real that I got so distracted that I was unable to pay enough attention to the traffic. ‘Now you need to postpone the rest of your teaching until we are home, because otherwise I will get run over.’

“After all these ages of dealing with humanity, I am still not used to your physical time bound environment. I will be back soon” …. and He disappeared immediately to continue his conversation exactly where we stopped it several nights later in a lucid dream.

In LVX
Ina Custers-van Bergen
P.s. When you want to develop your psychism and learn to work with the Inner Plane Contacts then maybe the Solo Magical Training is of interest for you.

The training modules of the Magical Order Temple of Starlight prepare you for initiation. During that training you will develop your psychism. As Dion Fortune and Ernest Butler emphasize; there is ‘wild’ psychism and trained psychism. Ernest Butler states ‘Fantasy is the ass that carries the arch’. The challenge is to find out exactly where fantasy ends and the Inner Plane Contacts start a genuine communication with you.

This is because the training of an initiate starts with bringing up subconscious mind stuff and healing suppressed parts of the Self. But it develops into sometimes very abstract cosmic teaching. People have to learn to tune into that vibe. Discriminating and fine-tuning to the energy is an essential part of the training.

We train through specialized forms of meditation, special training modules and rituals where the connection with the Contacts is trained and where students learn to open themselves as channels.

This always is very tangible in a working temple. The overshadowing becomes visible for everyone who has developed a little bit of psychism. When the Contacts come through, the magical energy becomes very strong and people report similar physical reactions.

The Baby in the Bathwater

Not every magician feels comfortable to work with the Inner Plane Contacts;

‘Israel Regardie said that after his 5=6 initiation he was summoned to hear one of the orders Secret Chiefs provide him with a personal message. He thought it was rubbish pouring from the unconscious minds of the channellers. He also had similar feelings about Crowley’s Books of the Law, which were obtained using a similar approach. That prejudice affected several strains of the Order which reject channelled messages completely.’ Nick Farrell

This is caused by injudicious application of the techniques by partially trained people. This is a really pity, because in this way the baby is thrown away with the bathwater. Although psychism is developed from the subconscious mind, it needs to be filtered, cleaned and healed to become a razor sharp piece of magical technology.

The subconscious mind is the starting point, and of course in the beginning a lot of personal suppressed mind stuff appears in the teachings. But when the initiate applies the maxim ‘Know thyself’ in specially designed meditations, the different parts of his personal mind stuff start to communicate as entities as well, and personal issues start to heal.

Then even deeper areas of the psyche are contacted, the areas where a person communicates on the subconscious level with the living world around him. It is where the personal boundaries are crossed where the communication with external entities begins.

In LVX
Ina Custers-van Bergen

PS. When you want to develop your psychism and learn to work with the Inner Plane Contacts then maybe the Solo Magical Training is of interest for you.

Some schools call them the Secret Chiefs, others call the Masters, in the Western Mystery Tradition we work with the ‘Inner Plane Contacts’. What are they, and why do we work with them?

‘The ideas of secret chiefs evolved under the British mistress of magic Dion Fortune into something which was more elaborate than had been seen even under Theosophy. Fortune regarded masters or contacts as the most important part of magic but rather than keeping them as the preserve of the chiefs of an order, made them a key part of any student’s training.’ Nick Farrell

Are Inner Plane Contacts still active today?

Today this is still the case. Historically the Magical Order Temple of Starlight developed from Dion Fortune’s lineage. The training – and especially the [Solo Magical Training] – aims at helping the student developing their own Inner Plane Contacts. This is done systematically and throughout the years that development turned out to follow a similar and predictable pattern in students.

‘Her system of three degrees emphasized the importance of contacts. In the first grade, a student would learn the theory of magic and start to develop the psychic skills necessary to start making contact with their astral master. In the second degree they would start on basic practical magic with the aim of making a deeper spiritual contact with the master. They would then make an “unreserved dedication” to that master who would agree to continue their teaching. At the third degree they would be working with the master to assist in its work.’ Nick Farrell

What happens in a Contacted Order?

The first phase of the training develops the psychic skills in order to establish a beginning contact. Over the years this contact deepens and more Inner Plane Beings are introduced by the Master to the students. It is fascinating to observe over the years that the messages of a specific Master come in waves and are similar to different people who are able to pick up the message.

Often the teachings are broadcasted multilayered: beginning students are able to pick up threads of the core teachings whilst more advanced initiates get the more detailed and more complex information. On the highest levels the teachings are abstract. They not only come as verbal information. But all the senses are involved, and often it is easier to note down the Inner Plane Communication in a kind of hieroglyphic drawing than as written text, to some people it can even come mathematically; depending on how your brain is wired.

We have noticed at several occasions that the teachings were coming simultaneously to students on different places in the world, which had no contact about that with each other.

This is the stuff that inspires great thinkers. This is the realm where Mozart heard his heavenly music that he wrote down. This is the place where the new inventions are picked up from cosmic wavelengths, new scientific ideas are born into people’s minds and new threads in human development are initiated. This particular part of the occult teaching that was trained throughout history until the Age of Reason came.

Similar to Dion Fortune’s Inner Light, the Hermetic Order of the Temple of Starlight has also developed a hierarchy of different contacts that are consulted for different types of magical work. We work with historical personalities as well as with Gods and angels.

In LVX
Ina Custers-van Bergen

PS. When you want to develop your psychism and learn to work with the Inner Plane Contacts then maybe the Solo Magical Training is of interest for you.

Within the Western Mystery Tradition priest offices of all levels are accessible to both men and women. Both sexes work together in lodges as equals. They both hold all offices up to the highest level.

And what is even more interesting: there is not only God, but he has the Goddess for a spouse. I am going to tell you more about her in upcoming articles.

In between the many texts of High Priestesses that survived the ages, there are jewels of poetry. This piece is worthwhile to meditate on, it will reveal your relation towards female priesthood:

Queen of all given powers, unveiled clear light
Unfailing woman wearing brilliance
Cherished in heaven and on earth.
Chosen, sanctified in heaven
You grand in your adornments
Crowned with your beloved goodness.
Rightfully you are High Priestess.

In LVX
Ina Custers van Bergen

PS. Do you want to learn more about the Goddess and her Mysteries? The Solo Magical Training takes you through several ancient traditions and you will learn to know her in your life.

In our society women are still not able to hold the same offices as men. In religious societies the backlog is even greater. Women are excluded from priestly functions in many established religions. Was this always the case?

No, this discrimination dates from about 1200 AD!

And that has been scientifically proven. In his book ‘The Hidden Wisdom of Woman’s Ordination’ Gary Macy proofs that the conditions for the performance of religious offices in the Roman Catholic Church was changed gradually between the twelfth and thirteenth century. At the same time the church registers were cleared from every proof that there had ever been woman holders of their religious offices.

Prior to this decision of church politics the practice of the office of priest at all levels of the hierarchy was normal! When you investigate history further back to antiquity, you find the most beautiful literature wherein female priests describe their relation to Gods and Goddesses. Female priests were called Sibyls[1], Pythonesses, Oracles, Abbesses, High Priestesses etc.

High Priestess of the Moon

One of my favorite High Priestesses from antiquity was the daughter of a king. Her name was Enheduanna. She was High Priestess and wife of the Moongod Nanna in Ur, 2300 BCE.

‘In the rooms of the priestesses
Those royal shrines of cosmic order
We follow the journey of the Moon.
Moonlight strikes over our land
His Light touches every land’.

‘The King of the Heaven
Has built his house in the Shining Land
He erects his seat on the dais’ [2]

In LVX
Ina Custers van Bergen

PS. Do you want to learn more about the Priesthood in the Western Mystery Tradition? The Solo Magical Training prepares you for this journey.

[1] The Sibylle of Cumae and the God Apollo[2] Betty De Shong Meador: Inanna, Lady of the Largest Heart

With the increasing popularity of Magic through the internet a lot of people are drawn to the mystery schools with ideas of their own what Magic is about. They try to dominate the discussion in groups and press their ideas onto the community. But Magic is Magic, its rules cannot be altered and that means that Magic is not for everyone.

As Western Mystery Schools we discriminate whom we accept as our students: a lot of changes happened the last few years. I believe every serious Western Mystery School is harassed on the internet in some way or another and this seriously disturbs context for new seekers who are trying to find their way. How did this happen, what is the current situation and how to proceed?

Surfacing from the Underground

When Magic surfaced from being an underground movement, it became mixed up with illegal groups. Other underground movements saw this as a chance to become accepted in the upper world as well; With all the popularity and the excitement, our temples became infiltrated by left hand path groups, ultra nationalist movements and attracted the mentally unstable. This caused enormous trouble and started rows and paranoia in the community. It was not clear whom could be trusted, because accepting the wrong student was enabling a schemer to become a member of your temple with the hidden agenda to blow it up.

It forced me to take a really good look at the different groups of people that were interested in Magic and I needed to think deeply about how to separate chaff from weed. I needed to know exactly what type of students became successful magicians and supportive members of the temple. I also needed to think of what function magic serves in the modern world and I excavated some jewels.

Purification and Transformation

A crucial factor in benefiting from magical work is in the purification and transformation process. This process cannot be done by reading books. This can only be done on a one-to-one basis, or in temple groups: under the guidance of an experienced tutor.

On a one-to-one basis, magical techniques can help people to heal bleeding psychological wounds: within a particular scope. It can help to explain certain very extraordinary, sometimes shocking experiences of the ‘Otherworld’, that cause people to start the search (and often this search gets stuck in the New Age movement).

Magical techniques included in the meditation process and applied in rituals can offer a new angle to process these extraordinary experiences and a person learns to contain, steer and apply this energy. Applied in the right way, this raw neurological energy pulse becomes real magical power, that will transform blockages into riches (turning Lead into Gold) and cause miraculous healing (the Wind has healing in its Wings).

In temple groups, people need to be willing to undergo and apply these internal transformations, by processing the transpersonal temple material and the psychic stuff that bubbles up on the magical energy. They need to be able to apply the outcomes to their own situation. We all have those personal wounds to a certain extent, there is no shame in admitting that, and there is a world to win by transforming that raw psychic material and put it to use.

Respecting the Temple Structure

A temple group can only work if the individuals act responsibly in dealing with their surfacing underground stuff, and do not project that onto their peers or to the leaders. It is of the utmost importance that temple functions are respected. The temple functions are no ego-boosters, but a responsibility: they are servants of the process. Temple initiates serve as projection screens for every member of the group to create awareness of ideal archetypes. The functions serve as transpersonal role models for development of every member. These projections are part of the process of the ‘Illumination of the Interior Stars’, that I describe in my book. Distributing them indiscriminately leads to ego-inflation and chaos. The people who hold the grades need to be able to carry the load and serve as role models.

The Great Work

If a person has the abilities to transform personal issues through the transpersonal magical techniques, then these techniques will generate a growth of the talents of that person and the melting down of previous blockages in a person’s life and a person really starts to blossom.

I have seen some real miracles happen and I am very proud of the results the people achieve that work hard at themselves in the Magical Order Temple of Starlight: they use magic as a toolkit to achieve extraordinary goals in their lives. They start to blossom in their own life and in this process the attitude of ‘what is in it for me’ changes to ‘I come to know in order to serve’; this is what the Great Work is all about!

I have tried to explain some aspects of these transformation processes in my teaching novel ‘The Mystery of the Sea.’ I wrote this book in a story form to enable people to identify more easily with the process. I hope sharing my two cents helps the community in developing a sane strategy to expand the community.